Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD Family
Photo courtesy Amazon
It was just less than a year ago that Amazon brought the Kindle Fire into this world. As the tablet wars rage, we recently saw the release of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, and now Amazon introduced a new line of Kindle Fire HD tablets.
“We’re taking on the most popular price point for a tablet, $499, but doubling the storage and, incredibly, adding ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless,” says Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. “Kindle Fire HD is not only the most advanced hardware, it’s also a service. When combined with our enormous content ecosystem, unmatched cross-platform interoperability and standard-setting customer service, we hope people will agree that Kindle Fire HD is the best high-end tablet anywhere, at any price.”
I have the original Kindle Fire (which my 2-year-old daughter has taken over), and the best part of it is the content availability. These new Fires make it that much more appealing.
My Amazon account gives me access to more than 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines. The selection of content for kids is impressive. This is key to keeping my daughter entertained for hours, which is crucial while traveling.
Recent inventions exclusively for the new family of Kindle Fire devices include X-Ray for Books and Movies (lets you see the “bones” of the books and movies), X-Ray for Textbooks (quick view of the most important information), Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice (seamlessly switch to listening to companion audiobooks), Whispersync for Games (when you switch devices or re-install you don’t have to restart your level), and Kindle FreeTime (reinvented parental controls to personalize your keiki’s digital media experience).
Only $199 gets you the 7-inch tablet with a stunning custom HD display, Wi-Fi, exclusive Dolby audio, powerful processor and graphics engine, 16GB of storage — all of course with the excellent content ecosystem.
The 8.9-inch $299 version has a slightly larger screen with a 1920×1200 HD display, and $499 scores you a higher-end model with 32GB of storage, a front-facing camera and 4G LTE wireless data capability.
Amazon will offer the data package for $49.99 per year (saving hundreds of dollars compared to the other tablets out there).
The pre-orders began shipping last week, and you can order one of your own at Amazon.com.
